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The issue with Axe is twofold: what he writes mixes few solid facts with heaps of speculation and pure B.S. Second, he poses as a journalist, yet does not follow the basic tenants of journalistic integrity and standards. He starts with his bias, finds sources that lack credibility, then formulates a conclusion that distorts, or goes well beyond what is supported by the few actual facts he provides.

His articles are the worst type of junk food for the brain, complete with flashy title that is usually misleading. He can pull this off because "john Q Public" is generally ill informed and willing to buy into sensationalism about military spending and procurement. Those who are: in the military, professionals, or have a base of knowledge on the topic dismiss him as a joke. People do not discredit his tabloid journalism approach to military matters because those who are educated ignore him anyway, and his target audience is largely ignorant of said topic.

LONDON --- The US Air Force (USAF) is moving ahead with a service-life extension programme (SLEP) of its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft, with an initial sources sought notice being issued to industry on 14 January.

The request for information (RfI) posted on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website seeks to determine the level of industry support for a SLEP for up to 300 of the service's 1,017 Block 40/42 and 50/52 C- and D-model F-16s.

Is this due to F-35 delays? In anticipation of a possible reduction in USAF F-35 procurement numbers?

Not associated with cuts to the F-35. The air force has been exploring the F-16 SLEP for several years. Due to the protracted development of the F-35, they will face a shortfall unless the F-16's can be extended beyond 8,000 hours. Even if the F-35 is bought at the 80 per year projected, it would be 2030 before the numbers would approach the F-16's currently in service. Hence a 4,000 hour ( 8 year) extension.

Not associated with cuts to the F-35. The air force has been exploring the F-16 SLEP for several years. Due to the protracted development of the F-35, they will face a shortfall unless the F-16's can be extended beyond 8,000 hours. Even if the F-35 is bought at the 80 per year projected, it would be 2030 before the numbers would approach the F-16's currently in service. Hence a 4,000 hour ( 8 year) extension.

The question at large still, "how extensive will the F-16 SLEP and upgrades be". As the AESA program has been stalled due to funding, it's unlikely to be resolved any time soon

I think I've got it. Because the F-35 program is so many years behind schedule good ole Uncle Sam is looking to fork out $$$ to extend F-16 service life and to pay the architect of this problem $$$ extra. Love it!

The bigger problem is the production ramp-up and the annual build rate cut that took place very early in the program.

You say 'only' 5 years behind it's development & IOC schedule. How late does something have to be before it stops being 'only' x years late and starts being x years late? You mention the build rate cut in the program being the bigger problem. That wouldn't by any chance have anything to do with a reluctance to build a larger number of aircraft with problems that would require rework rather than a smaller number of aircraft with problems that would require rework?

I think I've got it. Because the F-35 program is so many years behind schedule good ole Uncle Sam is looking to fork out $$$ to extend F-16 service life and to pay the architect of this problem $$$ extra. Love it!

The delay contributed YES. However, at one point the US Congress decided to slash around a Trillion Dollars from the 10 year budget under the BCA. That impacts production schedule, and it also indirectly impacts production schedule right after the BCA caps expire since a lot many other plans have been pushed to the right as well. The F-16 and F-15 modernization plans have existed for many years now and would have happened a few years ago had the money not been diverted towards other priorities. Same with the F-15 modernization plans. The radar modernization is happening at the moment both for the C and the E variants, and the Next Generation EW contracts just got awarded to Boeing and BaE.

You say 'only' 5 years behind it's development & IOC schedule. How late does something have to be before it stops being 'only' x years late and starts being x years late?

The "only" part was to demonstrate that the need to upgrade the F-16s was not due to the delay in SDD for the F-35.

You mention the build rate cut in the program being the bigger problem. That wouldn't by any chance have anything to do with a reluctance to build a larger number of aircraft with problems that would require rework rather than a smaller number of aircraft with problems that would require rework?

Nope, it was budgetary in nature. Proof of this is easy to see if you look at the original annual build rate plan for the F-35A. At the beginning of the program (2002~ish) the annual rate was planned at 120 F-35As but it was reduced to 80 LONG before the SDD issues reared their ugly heads in 2008.

There has always been a need to SLEP the F-16s, it's just a matter of determining the extent of the SLEP.

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFNS) -- An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base crashed at approximately 8:45 a.m. today north of Luke AFB in the vicinity of Bagdad, Arizona.

Luke AFB officials are working closely with local authorities in a search and rescue operation. Due to the remote location and rugged terrain, the status of the pilot is unknown.

The issue with Axe is twofold: what he writes mixes few solid facts with heaps of speculation and pure B.S. Second, he poses as a journalist, yet does not follow the basic tenants of journalistic integrity and standards. He starts with his bias, finds sources that lack credibility, then formulates a conclusion that distorts, or goes well beyond what is supported by the few actual facts he provides.

Whoooo, that was a rather fiery response..

Can you point at factual BS, dubious sources and distorting conclusion in his article?

Originally Posted by FBW

His articles are the worst type of junk food for the brain, complete with flashy title that is usually misleading. He can pull this off because "john Q Public" is generally ill informed and willing to buy into sensationalism about military spending and procurement. Those who are: in the military, professionals, or have a base of knowledge on the topic dismiss him as a joke. People do not discredit his tabloid journalism approach to military matters because those who are educated ignore him anyway, and his target audience is largely ignorant of said topic.

Sounds like you or those professionals you mention should have very little problem to debunk his conclusions..

No, he is pretty uniformly awful, but everything is about the F-35 for you...

I have spent two mins googling about the guy, he was the one who has brought up the story about the F-35 having been dismantled by an F-16D with the drop tanks.
Well, that explains pretty much everything..

the Russian government is buying heavily upgraded versions of older planes — an approach the Pentagon has dismissed as wasteful.

Why would the American military keep buying new examples of F-15s and F-16s when they can continue to upgrade the the same airframe tyopes already in service - which what they are doing. In fact, the US military are far more adept at keeping older airframe types in service longer than most other countries' military (B-52, A-10, F-15C etc.)

But a competing theory of aerial warfare argues that stealth is overrated — and it’s better to buy greater numbers of cheaper, non-stealthy planes.

A competing theory advocated by who? Certainly not by any highly professional, well trained or experienced air force/air arm that I'm aware of?